DSL question

You are always connected to the internet with DSL. You need to turn the modem off or disconnect a cable to go offline.

If you dont have one yet, you need a good firewall to keep intrusions out.

 

With my DSL I can disconnect from the internet and dial back in, although I usually stay connected all the time.

 

I live in a rural area and disconnect from the land-line and turn-off the DSL Modems surge strip to prevent damage during storms *every* night and when we go out for any length of time...

MY DSL Modem auto connects once it is set up...

It is an "Action-Tec"... And, has it's own IP Address for the end-user to set up the user name and password... (Make Sure you have it safely stored somewhere because it's easy to forget if you don't use it everyday! )

Yours may also have such an option?

I have a phone jack without the DSL Filter on it near the modem and just plug it back in and turn the surge strip back on when we get home again...

By the time the PC boots the Modem is re-connected...

BTW: We are using an 8-Port Switch off of one of the DSL Modem Ports to serve the whole house...

I, too, love DSL... Never want to go back to Dial-Up...

 

One place I lived you needed a password to log on to the internet. But once I logged off I was disconnected. However I could have chosen to stay connnected. Later when I installed a wireless router it was on all the time.

 

You really should have a router with a firwall in it between your dsl modem and computer, some dsl companies don't allow this since you can also share the connection, although that is becoming more acceptable now. If you don't have a combo router/modem, you should get a router with at least a NAT firewall, SPI is better.

If you don't want to do that, put a software firewall on your system at least, and unplug when you are not using it, but that can be a pain.

I have cable modem service, with a Linksys wireless router, and I also have firewalls on my systems. You have to protect your system from external access if you are running windows, the OS is very unsecure and many worms and viruses can get in easily over a broadband connection.

I run Solaris and Linux at home, and Windows and Linux on my laptop.

 

If our DSL compay didn't allow sharing the connection they'd get dumped immediately!

All our individual computers have either Zone Alarm or Sygate Personal installed...

As well as Norton Anti-Virus...

We also run regular scans with Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy.

Seems to be holding our own, so far...

We also shy away from likely sites that would use Spyware...

E-mail scanning is turned on in Norton, too... Both incoming and outgoing...

That's why I don't rely on any one vendor for my total security solution...

IMHO: Relying on *only* a hardware firewall is not wise because there have been instances where they have been penetrated.